Hayden Panettiere may play the “cold bitch of the century” on the new television drama “Nashville,” but in real life she likes a good belly laugh like everyone else. She tells a joke to Esquire magazine, although nothing is funny about her hot bikini photos.

The 23-year-old actress, singer and model broke into acting on soap operas like her mother, actress Lesley R. Vogel. By 10, she was part of Disney’s stable of child actresses.

Until “Nashville,” she was best known as Claire Bennet in the NBC series “Heroes.” She played a high school cheerleader with healing powers for four seasons (2006-2010).

Hayden Panettiere Hot to Trot Humor

She’s also appeared in more than a dozen full-length feature films, starting with her debut in “A Bug’s Life.”

On her new show, she plays opposite Connie Britton, the seasoned country star that Hayden’s character is gunning to replace. “I kept apologizing after my first scene with Connie, saying, ‘I don’t mean it!'” she tells the magazine.

Panettiere likes the show because it also gives her a chance to sing. She was nominated for a Grammy for a song in “A Bug’s Life” in 1999. “It’s fun,” she says. “You get permission to be openly nasty and get away with it.”

The petite blonde has been in the tabloids lately because of her breakup with boyfriend Scotty McKnight, an NFL football player. The split, reportedly amicable, was caused by “distance and different personalities” according to a source.

The couple first started dating in June 2011, soon after she split from Ukranian boxer Wladimir Klitschko, after a two-year relationship.

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